The present invention relates to elevators and, more particularly, to elevator machine support frames for mounting an elevator machine with respect to an elevator hoistway.
Conventional elevator systems include elevator machinerooms for housing the elevator machine and other components. Elevator machinerooms require buildings to have sufficient overhead space and specific structural features to accommodate the elevator machine and other components. As a result, such elevator systems are costly and lack versatility in installation requirements. These shortcomings and others have given rise to xe2x80x9cmachineroom-lessxe2x80x9d elevator systems.
Machineroom-less elevator systems provide various advantages including, for example, elimination of the need for overhead space and certain structural requirements to accommodate an elevator machineroom. Such systems are also versatile in that they have less specific structural requirements and, thus, they may be installed into a greater variety of buildings without as much customization as conventional elevator systems. Overall complexity and costs are reduced.
In typical prior art machineroom-less elevator systems, the vertical load of the elevator machine and other equipment, e.g., controllers, counterwieghts and elevator car, are supported by the elevator guide rails. However, this imposes unnecessary structural requirements on the guide rails, resulting in larger, more expensive guide rails to carry the added vertical load.
Structural support elements within an elevator hoistway wall, e.g., a reinforced concrete wall or beam at the top of the hoistway, or a top floor slab at a top elevator landing, may be used to support the vertical loads of a machineroom-less elevator system. However, because of manufacturing tolerances, elevator hoistway walls are never plumb and deviate substantially from vertical over their length. This poses a problem for any device utilizing these hoistway wall support elements, since in machineroom-less elevator systems, it is critical to properly install and align the elevator machine with the elevator car.
If the task of installing and aligning the elevator machine were simplified, reductions in installation time and cost would result, as well as other benefits.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an elevator machine mounting system for use in a machineroom-less elevator system in which installation, repair and adjustment procedures are simplified and in which costs are reduced.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an elevator machine mounting system for use in a machineroom-less elevator system that minimizes building or structural interface requirements and that enhances safety.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide an elevator machine mounting system for use in a machineroom-less elevator system that accommodates the mounting of additional components.
These objects and others are achieved by the present invention as herein described.
The present invention elevator machine mounting system is directed to a machine mounting system for use in a machineroom-less elevator system. The present invention elevator machine mounting system includes a two-piece frame that is anchored to an elevator hoistway at four locations. The first frame piece is located vertically from the top landing and horizontally from the front of the hoistway wall.
The first frame piece is shimmed, plumbed and leveled before it is permanently anchored to the hoistway wall. The frame is anchored at the top of the hoistway and at the floor slab of the top landing. The first frame piece includes top counterweight rail brackets and a portion of the rail bracket for the car and counterweight at the top landing level. The first frame piece also includes a counterweight dead-end hitch and a controller/drive mounting.
The second frame piece is fitted to the first frame piece after the elevator machine is mounted to the second frame piece. The second frame piece is adjusted postwise with respect to the first frame and then bolted thereto.